(00:00:04) And good afternoon. Welcome back to a special Main Street radio edition of midday. I'm Gary eichten. And today we're broadcasting live from Brother Willy's Pub on the campus of st. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota since this is homecoming week at st. John's. We thought we would indeed come home today. This is home for Minnesota Public Radio sort of public radio. Got its start here at Saint John's back in 1967, January 22nd, I believe is the official date that we went on the air 36 years ago and Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Clinton is joining us this hour to talk about the good ol Days. Well, most of them were pretty good. What we hope will be an even better future for Minnesota Public Radio. It's ask the president day on midday. And if you have a question or a comment for Bill clang about Minnesota Public Radio those of you here in the audience Rachel Reeb, he's standing by again. Shower with her microphone. So just raise your hand and Rachel get a microphone to you. If you're listening on the radio or the web you can give us a call. Our Twin City area number is 6512276 thousand 6512276 thousand toll free number is 1-800-218-4243 or 1-800 to for to to 828 now. We should Rachel I suppose be honest with people and explain that bill is been a little bit delayed. We're told he's on campus and we'll be flying into brother. Willy's pub at any moment Gary while we're waiting for mr. Cling to come certainly you have your own version of history. When we broadcast from the state fair this summer. There was a picture that looked somewhat like you but perhaps thirty years had been erased from your face. Tell us about that. Yes. Well, you know the the station Went on the air as I said in 1967 Coleman Barry who was a history professor at the time decided that in presently St. John's University decided that it was important for st. John's to be involved in the establishment of a radio station a high quality broadcast operation and he during the course of Bill clings period of time here at St. John's had met Bill talk to Bill about the importance of starting a radio station shipped clang off to get a good education in Boston as I understand the story and amazingly enough. Even after Bill came back from Boston Coleman. Barry was still willing to put all of his eggs in the cling basket and they went on the air in January I signed on in April and well, it's worked out pretty good bill. (00:02:58) It has I'm How are you? Did you (00:03:05) Bell clanging ever imagined as the squirrels were chewing through our transmission lines 36 years ago that you would be here 36 years later and and presiding over a company. That is a pretty big pretty (00:03:23) successful. I'd like to tell you we had it all planned and it was all supposed to come out this way. But it never is you do a little bit at a time the first station here on the campus the towers still on the campus was about all that anybody was thinking about and common very in those days was saying as president of the college, how do we reach out to the community Beyond this campus? And that was the way to do it worked really? Well except that we couldn't afford it Kali could College couldn't afford it. And the reason they couldn't afford it is that there weren't enough people within that signal so we had to add more stations and once you Doing that you just keep doing things and technology changed the world changed, you know FM radio which we were using as our as our primary way of broadcasting in 1967 wasn't what people listened to they listen to AM radio. There's anybody in this room, that's listen to AM radio in the last 10 years probably but that's what people listen to and as we grew the audience kind of came to us and then in recent years as consolidation has taken over, you know media all of it. Practically. Everything is owned by a few major public companies. People are coming to say this is a place where I still get quality information. You really put a major effort and into news I could cultural programming and that's all a plus 4. So it's you never plan it you can't tell that those things will happen do a few things. Right? We did I did believe in am Coleman had enough sense to listen and even though others said FM was never going to be a usable medium. He listened and turns out it was it (00:05:14) the growth of Minnesota Public Radio has been steady sometimes spectacular, but there were many dips along the way. What was the hairiest moment when when you said, you know, I don't think this is going to work. This is boy. We are right on the edge here. (00:05:36) It was probably the early 70s. We were independent st. John's at one point said the best way to make this grow is to have it be an independent entity and have it be broadly supported by the community. But we really didn't have without the institution. We didn't have any any resources. We didn't have a bank for example, and so in the early 70s there was a time when we had overdrawn our checking account. We had no line of credit. We couldn't get loans. Your paycheck was very close to not coming. I don't think we haven't missed (00:06:14) one. No, you did instruct us though repeatedly in the early days bill that we might want to wait a day or two of the cash that (00:06:20) paycheck or not catch them at all really wasn't necessary cash that you didn't feel you needed the money that was about as close as I think as we came to (00:06:29) collapsing have an email question about the early days of Minnesota Public Radio from Dan. From Plymouth and he asks do you think the heritage of Minnesota Public Radio on a small college campus with a Benedictine Abbey has influenced its Evolution over its 30 plus years. (00:06:49) Well, I think without any doubt. I think it started out with all the right values and that was really this organization this institution saying we want something not something that will provide Vatican radio to Stearns County. We want something that's going to extend the liberal arts nature of this University and that means thinking debate ideas culture music. So all of those things were part of the original concept and as you can tell now in listening to the stations, one of them is pretty heavy into news and information probably the best source of depth on news and information that You can find in this state and the other is very concentrated on the Arts classical music on all forms of Art. And and that's all part of what a liberal arts. College is about (00:07:49) we're broadcasting live today from st. John's University. This is our main straight radio edition of midday Bell clang president of Minnesota Public Radio is our guest this hour its ask the president day great opportunity to find out more about Minnesota Public Radio and why we do some of the things that we do if you have a question for Bill, give us a call at six five one two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand toll free number is 1-800-218-4243. INS Rachel will get a microphone to you Rachel. You've got a young gentleman there with a question as I understand and room Inc is a freshman at st. John's University. He's from Duluth and has a question for mr. Cling. I'm a longtime listener Minnesota Public Radio is wondering what the economic downturn Is there any programs that really be cut next couple of years or is Minnesota Public Radio still have strong members and strong funds for the next few (00:08:45) years. What's an interesting economic model it we haven't really been seriously affected by the economic downturn and one of our theories is that the people who support us a lot of people are $60 members $100 members when the economic tough times come they don't seem to spend as much money on Big Ticket items. And so they're still a believe actually got more disposable income and a lot of cases than they would otherwise they're still able to keep up a membership contribution. So for whatever reason we haven't seen a downturn in membership underwriting which is, you know, corporate and business support of programs has dipped a little bit but has held pretty strong. And the the institutions other institutions all around the state st. Scholastica in Duluth. Where you come from Concordia College in Moorhead st. John's Lutheran College. I shouldn't have gotten into this run myself into terrible trouble the University of Minnesota Morris are institutions that that help support us partly because we do fit that model of extending the liberal arts nature of the of the college out to the community. So there's enough diversity in the support sources that we've been okay, but we'll have a membership Drive coming up shortly and you'll get another chance to hear that. We need to keep that membership support strong. In order to stay on track (00:10:30) will there ever be a time when people don't have to listen to those membership drives bill? (00:10:37) Only if we could figure out how to automatically Bill all the listeners, you know with some new technology that hasn't yet been invented the tells us who you are transmits back that you're listening to us and gives us the chance to get to you in some better way that could actually that could happen. Nobody thought, you know that the internet in 1967 that there be anything is interactive and is as full of information as the internet is it could be there would be a way someday. We don't see it (00:11:05) yet. It'd be a shame to get rid of the (00:11:07) membership. I know so people would miss them when they (00:11:10) know the audience here is waiting for the start of the next one, you know Elliot day. (00:11:14) You're going to be the number by the way (00:11:17) Elliot your question for Bill clink, please thank you very much indeed Gary. Thank you. Mr. Cling for taking my call granted that the British Broadcasting Corporation is the finest broadcaster in the world and you have consistently reduced the coverage of the BBC on the NPR why that decision was taken and whether we can expect further reductions or if we're going to get it back more in the evenings rather than some of the other things I'll take your can't answer and then I'll get back to listening to them online. (00:11:52) Well, there you go. The BBC is a an important part of the overnight service. It was a deal that I made with the BBC for importing their signal by satellite the United States way back in about 1980 and it Ebbs and flows. We certainly it's on all night every night. We sometimes on a Friday or Saturday night will take an hour out of the late-night schedule to put something on that's that's interesting, but it's there and as you say if you miss it terribly you can pick it up online (00:12:26) have an email question about programming bill that seems to fit in here a little bit Cindy Benton has a question says MPR appears to be increasingly. Ling its listeners away from some of the highest quality National or other Regional programs to less quality MPR produced programs by this. I'm referring to supplanting Friday's Fresh Air with speaking of faith not airing rewind even once a week although some MP our programs are produced or are aired rather twice a week. Is this a business strategy designed simply to bring more profit to Minnesota Public Radio or an attempt to monopolize public radio. (00:13:03) Generally, those are decisions that are made by by our programming people after a lot of research and I was just looking at the schedule in front of me, but you take programs like speaking of Faith. It's probably got the fastest start of any new program we've ever done. It's a national program that we produce so it is on our are here, but it's on all over the country and it's getting rave reviews strong listenership more station signing up for it faster than almost anything that we have done. And so it's a matter. Judgment on the part of the program director down and saying Paul program directors I should say as to which programs will serve the audience better Rachel actually Gary. I have to go back one step because when I was mentioning the institutional sponsors and said I would get myself in trouble and I mentioned st. John's I forgot to mention the College of st. Benedict which we all think of as a close partner of st. John's but they too are one of our sponsors as is the Michigan Tech University and Houghton Michigan and I now have them all (00:14:09) perhaps the institutional sponsorship funding levels will remain (00:14:14) intact Rachel (00:14:18) hallway. Gerson is a senior at St. John's. He is from Shore View. Hi Bill. First of all, I would like to say hello and thank you for coming back to st. John's for (00:14:26) homecoming. You're welcome. And here the trees are turning colors and I always (00:14:32) did you see them as you were whizzing by (00:14:36) Tried to come in the old way. You can't do that anymore, but they're beautiful on the old (00:14:39) road. Well, I am the general manager of kgn be the campus station here and we are looking to upgrade from a signal that just goes between the two campuses to a web broadcast and my initial question is what advice do you have for a group of students looking to start a station (00:14:55) keep at it? I just saw something yesterday that the FCC is reconsidering allowing applications for new non-commercial stations. I know Saint John's applied for one some time ago and and got edged out because of some technical issues. You'll get it eventually if you want to go on and do it on the web, you know, just Set it up and and start doing it. Don't tell anybody how much it's costing and in terms of bandwidth because that's another department at the University of they'll never figure it out. So just do it. You know, that was our general mode of operation in the early days was figured out and do it and it kind of worked (00:15:42) Cynthia your question, please good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call. I'm a longtime listener. I've been enjoying the professional style and manner of the new guy on the Block David Malthus. How did we manage that great cou to have him here in Minneapolis? (00:15:59) Thanks. Well, I'm glad you noticed David as many of you know was one of the key players at National Public Radio, and he was looking for something where he could Not only be an air personality but where he could do a little more in the way of analytical interviewing so he was hired for two reasons one because he knew how to host the show and secondly because he would be able in live interviews to be as insightful as anybody we knew he could ask the right question at the right time. And if you're driving in your car and you hear some of those interviews and all things considered you think they've got the person that knows the answer and I really want to know what and they're not asking him the right question and all that happens to all of us, but David is particularly good at that and as you listen, I think you'll find that that's the value adds and we're delighted he (00:16:58) came or talking with the Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Clinton a broadcasting live from st. John's University where Minnesota Public Radio started 36 years ago. This is ask the President's Day. Ask the president de excuse me. Special Main Street radio edition of midday, and if you have a question for Bill cling, it was called 6512276 thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight Rachel. I have Rachel will lynskey with me. She's a staff member here at st. John's. Hi Bill. Welcome to st. John's. Thank you for coming. I just have one question. I really enjoy the CBC programs that you have on NPR particularly as it happens. Wondering if there are any plans to include more of those (00:17:42) programs. Not at this point as it happens is a terrific sort of magazine of what's going on in Canada. And one of the reasons we put it on we broadcast it again for many years is the candidate is sort of you know, right over the other side of the lake there and everybody forgets about it, but it has major influence on this country. I think it's still the largest trading partner with Minnesota and I probably the largest trading partner with with the country, but we do take it for granted and knowing what's going on what their political issues are there Winnipeg. If you drive up the road a ways you'll come to it is a major city that we just don't think of we think of Denver a lot and we think of Milwaukee a lot but we don't think much about when you say well it's a country with its own culture. Obviously. It's not America, but it gives different perspectives and one of the reasons we put those programs on is to here. From another perspective what people are thinking they're not under our government so far government does something they often have an opinion on it and they're very clear to stated and I think that's sort of part of our mission is to get people different perspectives. We often hear from people that they're mad because we we put on something they didn't agree with and they're people who listen to radio stations that are very consistent in giving one opinion in a Rush Limbaugh's show is very consistent. You'll know what Russia's opinion is even before you tune in. If you only want to get what you thought when you woke up this morning confirmed, then that's where you go and listen and our attitude is come and listen to NPR. You should get exposed to a whole lot of different kinds of thinking you might hear somebody that says what rush says even better than he says it and you might have somebody from Canada giving their opinion on something and something from the res some other part of America. So that's why we do it. (00:19:51) Let's go back to the phones Fern your question for Bill Clinton plays. Yes first. I want to congratulate you on st. Paul Sunday morning and speaking of faith and as it happens, I've couple questions in a cup. Why do you no longer broadcast CBC Sunday morning or Eleanor Wachtel? Who is a wonderful interviewer on CBC also? Why do you not purchase Zorba Paster on your health from, Wisconsin? Big radio or Gene for Rocco's new program that is broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays. You're incorrect In stating that in 1967. There was am only there was the Wisconsin public network, which has been broadcasting I think over 80 years by this time. Thank you. (00:20:47) Two things. Let me let me address that last Point first. I didn't mean to say there was only AM/FM was not listened to by very many people in those days. If you look at the statistics and my point was that public radio in general most of which operates on the FM frequencies has gained by the fact that the medium we operate on has become more successful over the years as far as all of the other programs again. These are things that we're glad to hear your opinions on them. These are things that I don't do we have we have people to do research. They look at schedules there. Sometimes a rights issues. If I remember I'd say cbc's Sunday morning was had some rights issues and we weren't able to get it anymore. So sometimes we can't get it. Sometimes we make a judgment that we think there is a better opportunity for our audience. Sometimes we try a program for a while in the audience Wayne's and we say that's not serving them very well and maybe there's something better. So you'll See change periodically, but it's nice to know that you like a lot of what's there Rachel (00:21:51) Katie Johnson is a teacher in the Communications Department here at St. John's have a question for you. I don't think that you answered fully the question that the email asked about the relationship between PRI and Minnesota Public Radio what I'm interested in knowing and I think that Minnesota Public Radio makes wonderful programs like speaking of faith and Savvy traveler now, but the fourth time that I hear Savvy traveler over a weekend is enough and I'm wondering if it is a business decision when I talk to people from around the country and they mention other programs that they get through syndication through other services. I understand that it's a programming choice and it's a marketing choice and I think it's only three times if you're looking at the programming, but but I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that relationship and how that factors into programming decisions. (00:22:40) One of the things that factors into programming decisions, and I'm just looking here to see Often we broadcast the Savvy traveler. It's on on Saturday at 2 o'clock. And if you're up at six in the morning, it's on Saturday at 6:00 in the morning. And then you can hear you saying that it's on on Sunday, but you know what? It's not anymore. So it's on twice on Saturday, but your point is why would we run that twice and not run something else that somebody else is is presenting to us. And again, it's an audience analysis that's done by the program directors. They find that that program performs better there than something else does and that's when they put it in place their stations around the country that run A Prairie Home Companion that have nothing to do with us or any business relationship run Prairie Home Companion in California, three the run it again at six they'll run it again on Sunday at noon. Own and it's because radio audiences aren't glued to their radios there. There are transitory audiences and they're picking up programs when it's convenient for them to pick him up. I doubt very much that the people of here Savvy traveler at 6 a.m. Here at again when it's on in the afternoon. So that's how that decision is (00:24:07) made email question. We want to add to the mix. This is from linfox up in Nisswa. And on other things Lynn says the new Brainerd NPR station is fabulous and also asks or notes rather the online auction seemed like a great idea. I'm pleased with my purchase. How much money did you make on the (00:24:30) auction think there was about a hundred and seventy thousand dollars net off of it. It was a really interesting experiment to see whether People could get things that they were interested in and help support MBR in the process and it worked from that perspective. I don't know whether you signed up to take somebody to lunch. Did you get bought? Yes went to a baseball game. You went to a baseball game? Yes. What's a couple of listeners? How was it? It was great. Great time. Did they ask you hard (00:25:02) questions help we did we talk baseball fortunately (00:25:06) and (00:25:08) twins one. So, you know, everything (00:25:09) was fine good would you do it again? Sure. Okay, so there is some opportunity there and a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars is a nice boost to the (00:25:19) they did not pay a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars to go to the baseball game with meet (00:25:23) with you know, that's what it would be worth it Korea, but I can understand they didn't but that goes back to that question. Somebody else asked me which is about the diversity of the funding sources, you know, their their membership dollars. There are online auction dollars their underwriting dollars Etc to keep that in Balance. You've got something that (00:25:39) works but about Support given all the problems that federal government has state government budget problems. As far as the eye can see. Why is it that the government should continue to give public radio and public TV for that matter money? (00:25:57) Well, I think it's interesting that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which uses federal dollars gives about seven or eight percent of our budget now comes from that Source that's dropped over the years at one point. It was probably as high as maybe 30% and what the chairman of the FCC said the other day Michael Powell was interesting. He said it's finally occurred to me that all of the flak were getting about media concentration, you know, where radio and television stations newspapers Cable Systems can all be owned by a few very large conglomerates. He sits finally occurred to me that the balance for that is public broadcasting and just as the early caller was talking about the strength of the BC in England commercial broadcasting is relatively new but it's on the rise and they've got this very strong Public Broadcasting Company and then they're adding all kinds of diversity with commercial broadcasting. We've done just the opposite. We've had a very very strong commercial media system in this country and a very weak Public public broadcasting system, but the playing field is begin to beginning to level here a bit as well. As we see people beginning to see that the alternative if you're going to have all that consolidation and the changes in programming that result from it. The alternative is a strong public broadcasting system to be a complement to it. And eventually we hope will have the same strength that the BBC is (00:27:32) I was at a public radio President Bill Clinton is our guest this hour its ask the president day on midday today. If you have a question about Minnesota Public Radio, give us a call six. One two two seven six thousand or 1-800 to for to to 828 were broadcasting live today from st. John's University where Minnesota Public Radio started 36 years ago were in brother. Willy's Pub. Lots of folks have gathered and some of them have questions Rachel Bob Nystrom a Baxter's in the audits. Mr. Clean. Can you tell us what the presence of Garrison Keillor has meant to the success in evolution of Minnesota Public Radio over the (00:28:10) years? Well, it's enormous. I can't quantify it in numbers. But in the very early years here Garrison was hired to be a classical music announcer 1969, I think and he did a program from six o'clock in the morning until nine where he played classical music and one of the reasons we hired him as he had a kind of a nice voice and he could pronounce the names so That evolved gradually into his adding some humor into the program and deciding one day that he would like to do a live show in the morning from an auditorium down in st. Paul where there were more people on stage than there were in the audience and it was pretty awful to wake up to but that didn't stop him. The idea was right. He just had to kind of get the pieces together and pray Home Companion really was talk came on the air from on a Saturday in the early 1970s from Macalester College and then became the phenomenon that it is today as something over 4 million listeners to it. Every time it comes on the air. It's helped build audiences. It's helped develop businesses that ended up providing funding for Minnesota Public Radio and enormous. Positive benefit for all of public broadcasting if you could quantify it for all the stations that that got on the map because of Garrison that picked up audience that gotten members support the got under arrows etcetera. It would be huge (00:29:54) and is on the line with a question for Bill clang. Go ahead and I'm just wondering I hear Public Radio International, you know, it's producing for what is it? Exactly (00:30:05) so distributor it was formed as American public radio as part of Minnesota Public Radio in the 1980s. And at one point it was separated off to become a distributor that was independent of us because it it was thought that it would function better that way. So it makes arrangements with stations to Market programs. It'll take a program Like A Prairie Home Companion and call the Station in Portland, Oregon and say we'd like you to Carry it and do whatever they need to do to support the carriage of it to give it promos and advertising materials and other things and recent years. It's gotten into co-productions where it will help a station with an idea to produce that and make it into a successful program programs like the next big thing out of WNYC New York. For example, I think our co-productions of PRI and WNYC the world is a co-production of of PR eyes and WGBH in Boston as kind of an extension of the early efforts where what we try to do is raise money to give to stations to help other stations create new programs because in the early 80s, we had a satellite system that could distribute all kinds of programs, but we didn't have very many programs to distribute and we had to create new ones. So the Ford Foundation The Mellon Foundation others backed us and we took some of that money gave it to stations they made programs and then we had to create an entity to distribute Market those and that's where PR I came from (00:31:50) another email question. Why are there music programs on the news stations? Can we replace the Jazz image Studio 360 American roots and so on with actual information programs and keep those music programs on the music stations. Well, it's a (00:32:06) bit we have all the time, you know, there are times when a different kind of music that doesn't really fit on the classical music channel should be heard and the Jazz image comes on at nine o'clock on Saturday night. It's preceded by American Roots Prairie. Home Companion is always been on the news station. So there are times when we break that news format, but it's usually time when people aren't into heavy listening for news. And again, the audience research tends to show that that on a Saturday night giving people some diversity of music as a good idea also, But it's a comment. That's a good one. People do like formats to be consistent and I'm sure our programmers who are listening and st. Paul will hear your question and I think some more about it Rachel you're up. Next. (00:32:54) Theresa crater is a Saint Benedict student from Modesto, California. Hi, I know you studied here and I was just curious like what you studied and how you got into (00:33:04) radio. Did I learn anything? I was this this mobile will encourage all of you. I was a physics major who then switch to English and who ended up in economics. So I probably cover most of you in this room at at some point. I got into radio because of the student radio station and the student radio station in those days was even weaker than it is. Now. It just sort of went through the electrical wires, but it was fun and we had much more faculty control The Faculty decided what records could be played rock and roll was not allowed but you know, I kind of snuck it in now and then and at some point we got a very enlightened president by the name of Coleman Barry, who said That student station, you know, it's kind of interesting but it isn't doing much couldn't we do more and that's that's what got me intrigued and we went on to do (00:34:10) more. Let's take another caller with a question for Bell clang Tim. That would be you. Yeah. Hi. Mr. Klingon. My name is Jim from st. Paul big supporter of public radio financially and wit with my ears. I've noticed sir that over the years, you know, certain segments of programming will be presented is being brought to you by this vendor or brought to you by that vendor. I've noticed the same kind of trend at the national level and I'm wondering sir. Are you concerned with what I perceive any way to be a kind of creeping commercialism coming into public radio or do you see that as just part of the Ballgame? Thanks and I'll take my answer off the air. (00:34:50) Thanks. Yeah, I think I know why you're asking that question because there are more underwriting announcements on than there were before and it's all a matter of relativity. Commercial broadcasting stations now have I think something in the order of 18 minutes an hour of commercials? So if you tune over and see what the alternative is, we sound pretty good somewhere in the early 80s. I think it was the Federal Communications Commission change the rules for us used to be that we were only able to say the name of a and we were required to say the name of anybody supplying money for programming. It was one of those disclosure rules. So if if Cargill gave us $10,000 for Prairie Home Companion, we had to say that this program is sponsored or underwritten by Cargill didn't take us very long to figure out that that wasn't a negative, you know, thatthat disclosure requirement was actually a way to bring some additional funding in to strengthen programming and in the mid-80s. The FCC said you can say more than that will allow you to describe the source of the funds and in describing it you can say Cargill a diversified worldwide company engaged in a b c and d that sounds more commercial but it never is a call to action. We're not allowed to say that something is on sale never allowed to say buy it. We're never allowed to say it's best or better or anything. That's that's qualitative like that. So the descriptors of the supporters are there. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's good to know who's behind programming and what they do. What do they like? We just said Cargill a lot of people would say, what's what is that but to be able to describe what kind of company it is is helpful. So it's broader than it was that's because the FCC authorized us to do that and we must make the announcements we have to identify those who are providing sources of support for programming, but we obviously actively solicited and we think it's a good part of the mix and it's it's quite well and balance in compared to the commercial Alternatives Rachel. (00:37:12) Amy Fiddler's a student at st. From nearby st. Joseph High. Also wondering if you feel there is a liberal bias in the media and does this affect like the type of topics that you would like discuss on your programs (00:37:25) when you hear it a lot, but you also hear the opposite that that in radio in particular. There's a conservative bias on am talk radio. For example, that's a charge that's often made and Fox News Now Pat entire copy room wrote the name fair and balanced and we always thought we could say fair and balanced. We've been saying it for a very long time they seem to be objecting to anybody else declaring themselves fair and balanced because they think it's their trademark. I don't think that we're particularly affected by what other people are doing. You know Fox is leaning right or left. If AM radio is leaning right or left. We try to do what I Saying about earlier. We really try to give you. Perspectives from all sources. We really want this. It's like a college and then you come here not to have reinforced what you thought when you arrive but to have your minds open to whole lot of things that you didn't know and to challenge your thinking and maybe make you a broader person and to open up new opportunities for you. I think that's what we try to do. And while we get labeled in all directions by people who might hear one program and not hear another version of the same topic from a different perspective. I think In fairness, we are well-balanced we check it all the time. We keep track of of of the balance. We do a program on a subject where we have a strong liberal approach to it. We are almost certain to do at another point in time the same concept from conservative source. You're mixed that it depends. You know, the only time you get labeled as if somebody is listening to something and at that particular moment, they don't like what they hear and they aren't willing to listen on and understand that this is all part of broadening the perspective of the audience. (00:39:35) Let's go back to the phones. Jim your question, please. Jim oh, yes. I'm calling from Edina. Thank you very much for taking my call The Time magazine article about public radio and its profitability. Could you address that because it said that the species by wouldn't like hearing this wouldn't like that article very much and our membership drives, you know, really necessary if there is profitable as the article stated. Thanks. (00:40:03) Yeah. It's been a while and I don't remember the article very clearly, but what you need to remember, I'm not sure what charge time made to do. Remember that Gary (00:40:13) not very well know (00:40:16) what is important to realize is (00:40:19) that the bottom line presumably is that there's so much money coming in from so many other sources. There's just no reason to be on the are asking people to call in (00:40:28) memberships. Well, that wouldn't be it wouldn't serve us very well because something like the lot while the largest source of funds for Minnesota Public Radio is membership and it's about 23 or 24 percent of the total budget, but What's important to remember is that these are nonprofit organizations. In other words, there are no shareholders. There's no dividend paid to individuals. So if the if the underwriting is better this year than it was last year if they're more members this year than it was than there were last year the programming gets better. And if you if we could play a tape of what MPR sounded like in 1975 and play a tape of what it sounds like today. It would be an astonishing difference and that's really because every year the support has grown but to suggest that there's money lying around a profit or whatever simply totally off base. And if I knew the specific charge the time it made I think we could refute it pretty effectively (00:41:25) another question here from our audience at st. John's Rachel Beth Beach is a student at st. Benedict's. She's from Marshall. I was wondering what do you guys do to draw in younger younger listeners because as the younger listener news and classical music Won't necessarily draw me in as a listener. And what programs do you guys do to draw and younger students to listen? (00:41:49) I was amazed somebody near you that has been listening as a freshman was been listening for some time up in Duluth, but you're right by and large our our our audience begins when you get to be in your late 20s, and you get a little more serious about how things are going to affect you when there's a war on the audience gets younger because people are wondering what's going to happen to me. Am I going to get pulled into this in some way? We think a lot about it and we talked a lot about it, but we haven't found a good alternative. The answer is to have a third service which has a different kind of music in a different kind of energy and a different kind of reporting and that sort of gradually brings you in at the interest level where you are in your life and ultimately, Hand you over when you get to the point of having children and big issues and jobs and things and you want to know more about what the news and information station for instance would tell you it's on the drawing board. We haven't gotten to it. And we'll see if we get to it. Let me ask you a question. If we had something like that. What would cause you to listen to that instead of what you listen to now (00:43:07) probably more of the pop music I'd say probably and like a different coverage of news more of sports and going ons and like younger for younger people not for much the older people. I don't know. (00:43:20) No, it's a great point and someday we'll have a big Gathering down in st. Paul with people like you to come and tell us more about what would really work because it's I it's something we recognize and we'd like very much to have the good news is that the audience consistently refreshes itself at age 27 28 29 new people keep Comming in it. Isn't that it keeps getting older. It's that there is a point in your life when you sort of automatically get interested in that sort of thing, but we'd much rather have a feeder system where you have one channel that people really like when they're 18 and and like a lot until they're Eight and work it in. I think this might that be you might host it. (00:44:05) I think they're looking maybe for a younger younger person internet though. Might that be a place where that to that whole technology comes into play as people as the internet becomes more accessible. You can actually hear things as you're bouncing around hitter and Ian in other words is that is that a possible use for the internet which is clearly changing the whole (00:44:29) way internet radio. I mean Wi-Fi suddenly makes the internet portable, right? Somebody told me that they listened to a radio station on their computer driving from Kent Ohio to Minneapolis and they never lost when meeting that there was Wi-Fi all the way when I find that unbelievable, but if it isn't there now it's going to be there so portability with the with the web, you know, I have a carrying a thing on my belt right now that that gives me email and one of these days Press a button in the let me hear audio from the web web is a possible way of doing it. But we find the best results are to have a radio station that can draw a large audience and then to focus people to the web for special interests. For more detail more depth. There are five and a half million page views a month now on the Minnesota Public Radio website. These are people who are basically listening to something we've done on the radio and then coming in to say I wanted a more about that and going to the web to learn more about (00:45:33) it Randall your question, please good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking my call. Good afternoon. Mr. Cling and mr. Ican. I'm I'm a long time listening to NPR and I follow it fairly closely. In fact, I think of one article I read recently with no good act goes unpunished is one of the articles that I remember reading about, Minnesota. Radio and I think NPR has done more than nearly any other nonprofit organization reach out to the state. What's Curious to me now is that NPR is on the internet. It has a magazine it has Radio AM and FM. It really blankets the state and I'd say even into Canada and it's the Upper Midwest even including Montana and Los Angeles. It's becoming fairly complex business and I'm curious for you. Mr. Clean when you wake up in the morning and you're brushing your teeth and getting ready to go to the office. Who do you think of as your competition? What what who are you striving to get be as good as or better than and I'll take your answer on the phone. (00:46:47) It's quick. It's a great question when I get up in the morning and think about it, I think about the audience. We have a motto on every agenda that we have for an intern. Eating an MPR that starts out with it's about the audience. I don't think a whole lot about what our competitors are doing. I think about the macro issues such as what's happening to them as businesses and how they're consolidating and how it used to be that every station in the Twin Cities had a different owner. Now, you can find six seven eight stations owned by the same company and pretty soon those companies are going to be allowed to own newspapers and television stations and lots of other things at the same time. So we look at the macro issue on that and then we think about how do we how do we serve our audience better? How do we get in a news and information environment the right stories out, you know, you know that there are times when you're driving in your car and you shout back at the radio saying you didn't get that right. I know more about that than you do and we're using tools like the internet to draw information in from our We want knowledge and we've got a really smart audience listening. They know more about anything than we do and any subject. They know more about it and are willing to tell us if we ask them. So we just did a thing on employment. We're working on a series. It's going to start up in a week or so and we've gotten 985 people who have come in with solid information that's going to be valuable for that programming. It'll make it better. I guess the challenge that I think about is how do we stay ahead if if audiences are increasingly looking to us as the source of real news of solid news of in-depth news, how do we stay ahead of that? How do we remain good enough and we found some new technologies that do draw on the knowledge in our audience that that are really exciting same on the classical music side to be able to to serve that audience in a way that gives them what they need most we We have more people listening to classical music than I think attend all of the performances of classical music in the entire state in a week and we can take that audience and introduce them to more of what's going on with other Arts organizations Etc. That's a big plus. So that's the kind of thing I think about is how do we serve our audience better? It's all about the audience. (00:49:23) We do have a membership week coming up starting next week. I imagine we're taking new members bill or their membership test that people have to take what's your what's your thinking? They would be delighted to handle a certain people allowed in or (00:49:34) you know, it goes back to the question somebody raised about this Time magazine article if we could get every single listener to become a member the quality of the programming that they here now would would be totally eclipsed. It would be so much better. (00:49:49) We have to run we're out of time. Thanks Bill. You're welcome. That is all the time. We have this afternoon. Thanks to all of you here at st. John's for stopping by and all of you listening on the radio Sarah. Where's the producer of our midday program Christina Shockley is our assistant producer Engineers today Scott lieber's Clifford Bentley and Randy Johnson. Also course. Thanks to Main Street radio field producer Rachel rebe Michaelson and Annie Baxter of Cayenne S are here at St. John's and the good folks here at st. John's University for their Hospitality. I'm Gary eichten. Good afternoon from Brother Willy's pub at st. John's University in Collegeville. Hope you can join us for midday tomorrow. Programming is supported by Pentair a minnesota-based diversified manufacturing company offering investors positive cash flow expanding margins and prospects for strong growth. You can learn more online at Pantera.com. Whether on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by CHS the company that supplies food grain and energy resources for enriching lives. You can visit them online at CHS inc.com programming is supported by the College of Saint Catherine's weekend College designed for working women who want to complete a bachelor's degree obtain a master's change directions or pursue something entirely new information online at www.stlglass.com afternoon, you're listening to Minnesota Public Radio in your to 91.1 klow Minneapolis. And st. Paul the weather for the Twin Cities this afternoon calls for some clouds with a high temperature may be reaching 48 degrees tonight partly cloudy skies with a low temperature near 23 for tomorrow partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers some time in the afternoon a high temperature on Thursday near 55 degrees right now in the Twin Cities. We have clear skies with a temperature of 42 degrees Talk of the Nation comes our way next here on Minnesota Public Radio.